Lebanon PM Keen to Resolve Rift With Gulf Countries
Lebanon PM Keen to Resolve Rift With Gulf Countries
(Bloomberg) -- Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati says his country is eager to resolve its diplomatic rift with Gulf countries over the war in Yemen, and urged the minister responsible for the feud to resign.
Mikati called again on Information Minister George Cordhahi to “take the decision that should be taken and put the national interest first.” Cordhahi touched off the spat last month by saying Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen was “pointless and should stop.”
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, is involved in the war in Yemen and has trained Houthi rebels fighting the Saudi-led coalition there. The group and its allies are represented in Mikati’s cabinet.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Lebanon over the comments, withdrawing its ambassador and expelling the Lebanese envoy. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain followed suit.
During his live speech at a conference in Beirut, Mikati also said his cabinet wouldn’t interfere in a judge’s investigation of the 2020 Beirut port blast, which has turned into a political flashpoint.
Hezbollah and its allies say the investigator should be replaced because he is biased against the group and singling out former cabinet ministers allied with Hezbollah for blame. Cabinet hasn’t convened since Hezbollah supporters and opponents clashed over the port investigation a month ago, because Mikati doesn’t agree to the group’s demand to discuss the probe.
“Whoever thinks that the solution lies in obstructing the government’s work and raising political stakes is mistaken,” Mikati said. “Whoever thinks they can rule the country alone is also mistaken.”
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